Investigation of cooperative-member relations and opinions on forestry production in forest village cooperatives

In rural settlements, especially in forest villages, cooperatives are very important in terms of their contributions to rural development. In this study, the views of the members and managers of agricultural development cooperatives operating in forest villages within the boundaries of the Bucak Forest Management Directorate, where forestry activities are intensively carried out, on forestry production and cooperative-partner relations were examined. Data were collected from cooperative members and managers using survey and structured interview techniques, respectively. According to the results of the study, it was determined that cooperative-partner relations were at a good level, the members and managers had a sense of belonging to their cooperatives and embraced the cooperative. The most important problem of cooperatives regarding their members was the inadequacy of the tools and equipment that the members had for use in forestry production. The most important expectations from the forestry organization were; increasing unit prices, credit support and organizing training programs related to cooperatives. In general, the most important factors affecting the success of cooperatives were determined as; (1) a strong and reliable institutional image, (2) development of education, training and human resources (3) effective organization and (4) cooperation between cooperatives.